This invention relates to travellers for sailcraft and more particularly to an improved traveller assembly for positioning a sail on a sailcraft.
Many sailcraft, such as sailboats, ice boats and the like, are fitted with a traveller across the deck after the mast. With such a device, the trim of the mainsail on each tack is controlled. Numerous varieties of traveller devices are known. The simplest forms of travellers consist of a ring or sheave that slides along a rod or rope fastened to the deck of the sailcraft. More sophisticated travellers, in which class the traveller assembly of the present invention is included, consist of a track fastened generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis on the deck or other portion of the sailcraft and a traveller car which slides along the track. The main sheet pulley is mounted on the traveller car thereby movable from side to side of the craft away from the centerline. Stops may be used to limit the movement to either side.
In order to move the traveller car and position it in the right place for any particular wind or sailing condition, control ropes are provided which are operable from each side of the craft. Such control ropes are in the majority of cases fastened in cam cleats so that once the traveller is set in a desired position it will be held there.
Sailors are very much aware of the improved performance of the sail, for example, main sail, which can be achieved by optionally adjusting the traveller car to control the angle of attack of the sail. This optimum position, however, varies with changes in the wind velocity as well as with each sailcraft design. For example, in light air, going to weather, the traveller car must be moved to weather so the boom is close to the centerline of the sailcraft. In heavy air, the traveller car may be on the centerline or all the way to leeward to help bring the craft to a more level position. These adjustments, however, become, so tedious at times that the average sailor leaves the traveller car on the centerline so that he does not need to adjust the position each time he tacks.
On the other hand, for the racing sailor, traveller car position is very important and most racing sailcraft have a control system on each side of the traveller car consisting of a tackle and a jam cleat to pull the traveller car to windward and secure it there in the desired position for the point of sail and the wind velocity existing at the time. When one tacks the boat, a control line must be released from the jam cleat and the helmsman or other crew must move to the other side of the boat and secure the opposite control line in its jam cleat before the craft passes head to wind.
Numerous traveller devices and assemblies have been devised in an attempt to overcome the aforenoted disadvantages. For example, a self-releasing traveller and cam cleat is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,147,121 wherein an attachment means is provided on the traveller car for attaching control ropes on either side thereof for controlling the position from either side of the sailboat. Cleat means are provided on either side of the traveller car for fastening the control pages. Cleat releasers are also provided on the traveller car, being movable relative to said cleat means, and being operable in response to wind pressure on, for example, the main sail to release the cleat means on one side of the said traveller car, while leaving the cleat means on the other side of the traveller car undisturbed.
Other traveller assemblies are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,978,809, 4,013,031, 3,678,876, 4,144,830, 4,080,919, 3,875,889 and 4,319,537. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,537 discloses a sailcraft traveller car and assembly adapted to enable traveller positioning to be controlled from a position on the sailcraft remote from the traveller. This device comprises a car for a traveller track, the car slotted to ride in the traveller track and having a pair of transverse major holes in the middle thereof and a transverse minor hole on each end. A sheet for a sail of the sailcraft is bent to one of the major holes and reeved via the the sail through the major hole. Lines bent to the minor holes permit positioning of the car along the track to be controlled from a position on the sailcraft remote from the traveller.
None of these prior art traveller devices, however, overcomes the necessity of adjusting the stops or control lines every time tacking is required.